The next season of the VALORANT Champions Tour starts in February 2023

According to insider George Geddes, the next competitive season of the VALORANT Champions Tour will begin in February 2023. In addition, the insider shared new information on the affiliate program, including scholarship minimums, as well as the latest details on potential franchise partners.

The first three VALORANT International Leagues will begin in mid-February 2023 and end in September 2023. In addition, according to multiple sources, teams in the leagues will be awarded scholarships of at least $600,000.

Several organizations in different regions completed their interviews with Riot Games for the affiliate program next year. Other organizations are looking forward to completing their meetings this week. Riot Games strictly monitors the results of each organization, including finances and content release, since these are the indicators that are the main criteria for a publisher.

According to sources, teams will be notified if they have received a place in the affiliate program by mid-September. After that, the organizations will have several months to sign new players during the scheduled transfer window period from October to February, when the season starts. Third-party championships will be held during this period.

Affiliate teams will receive scholarships from Riot Games: while the base payout is $300,000, members will receive an additional $300,000 for selling skins and in-game merchandise, as well as $400,000 for successful content creation. As a result, the best teams will qualify for amounts equal to $1,000,000.

This information debunks early rumors that Riot Games will offer partner teams in the new VALORANT Franchise League up to $1.5 million in annual scholarships. According to Dexerto, the estimated scholarship amount will vary by region, but at least At least it will be in the order of $1M. Organizations that qualify for the Partner League in the EMEA region will receive an estimated stipend ranging from $1M to $1.5M. According to other sources, US teams will be eligible for the same amount, and even more. Meanwhile, Asian partners will receive slightly less due to the region's lower operating costs compared to Europe and America.

In North America, shortlisted organizations including OpTic Gaming, 100 Thieves, Sentinels, XSET, Evil Geniuses, TSM, The Guard, Cloud9 and Version1 qualified for the final round of selection. Most of the teams have completed their meetings and are awaiting Riot Games' final decision.

These teams will be placed next to the Brazilian and Latin American teams in the American League, which will feature 10 teams.

The Asia-Pacific League will be played in Seoul, where teams from the region will have to relocate to compete. Meanwhile, the European League will likely take place in Berlin, while the American League will likely take place in Los Angeles, according to several sources.